The Rundown

• Great services at both campuses this past weekend!!


• I'm heading down to Alpharetta on Wednesday for a roundtable with some other pastors.  I'm really excited about this opportunity.


• We're most likely going to bring in Jim Tomberlin next month to help us think through and improve our multi-site strategy. Jim is one of the pioneers in the multi-site movement.  I believe so strongly in multi-site because of its huge potential to grow the kingdom exponentially.


• SUPERBOWL this Sunday!! Can't wait for the commercials.


• We finish up FORGED this Sunday ... don't miss it!!


• Got some big time student ministry events coming up.


• I'm pumped about our next two series ... I'll share more later.


• We're about to put our messages online in both audio AND video format!  We've had a lot of requests for this and I'm excited that we should have it up and running in the next couple of days.


• Don't forget that the UNLEASH CONFERENCE is coming up and we want any Rock "Bridger" to go who wants to.  We'll pay and provide transportation.  Last year we took 30+ people and WOW! we came backed pumped up!!
  
  
  
  • Thursday, March 13th -- we'll leave real early and get back around 8:30 - 9:00 pm.
  
  
  • You can sign-up by emailing -- gail@rockbridge.cc
  
  
  
  

Lesson from P.F. Changs

P.F. Changs is mine and Beth's favorite restaurant (right now).  We absolutely love it!  The food is excellent, the service is excellent, & the atmosphere is excellent!

The weird thing is that normally I HATE Chinese food ... except at P.F. Changs.  I have to be near a bathroom within 45 minutes of eating it ... except at P.F. Changs.  To me, I associate Chinese food with sweaty buffets ... except at P.F. Changs.

What's the difference?  Excellence trumphs preference.  When things are done with excellence, long-established personal preferences can be overcome and even changed.  Some more examples: I don't usually like watching golf, except when Tiger Woods is playing.  I have no reason to be a New England Patriots' fan, except for the way they play the game ... you guessed it, with excellence (that is nearing perfection).

What about our churches?  Can excellence trumph the growing preference in this country which is to not go to church on Sunday morning?  I believe so and in the process people can meet Jesus!!

Leadership Development

Earlier this week I mentioned leadership development in a post.  This subject is getting a lot of attention in our church and our prayers right now.  Aaron will be working more in this area as he transitions out of small groups in a few months.  But what do I mean by leadership development?

Most churches have a plan for how someone becomes a "member" of the church with the end result being the person is on the church roll, maybe in a group or class, and perhaps serving on a ministry team.  We are talking about a process to help church members assume increased responsibility either in a small group context, over a ministry team, or in the church as a whole.  For example, I lead a small group but there was a time in my life when I only participated in a small group.  Over time I was able to begin leading a small group because of certain skills that I developed and certain passions I have for Christians community.  We are asking the question, "How do we help church members who have a passion for a particular ministry develop the skills to lead certain aspects of that ministry?" 

To help your imagination, think about this:

• How could a church member grow to become an Elder? A staff member? A campus pastor of a Rock Bridge multi-site?


• How could a host team member grow to become the leader of the entire Host Team Ministry?


• How could a high school senior grow to lead a small group for middle schoolers?


• How could a children's ministry volunteer grow to oversee an entire department within the children's ministry?


• How could a student ministry group leader grow to become the Student Minister over a Rock Bridge multi-site?

Fight the Right Battles

Great story in I Samuel 25 where David almost fights the wrong battle with a guy (Nabal) who refused to feed him and his men.  Well, Nabal's wife, Abigail, intervenes and basically tells David that the reason he is so successful is that he fights the right battles, instead of getting distracted by less worthy battles.  This story is so cool and so right on for church leaders and planters.

There will always be more battles to fight than we have the time, energy, and ability to fight.  The key is to fight the right battles -- the one's God has designed, equipped, and (through the church) organized us to fight and to win.

Here are some battles that are probably not worth the effort:

• Trying to defend or justify the vision of your church to people who just don't get it and don't want to get it (i.e. the people who want to debate music styles, Bible translations, dress codes, use of technology, etc.)


• The people who criticize or question your church yet have never attended it


• The struggling church that wants to blame your church for their problems


• The parent who believes their kid's problems are a direct result of the church's children/student ministry


• The person who keeps contacting you to tell you they are praying for you because you baptize people in the "Name of the Father ... Son ... and Holy Spirit" (true story)

Here are some battles that are probably worth fighting:

• Keeping the vision alive and vibrant in your church.


• The core doctrines of the faith


• For opportunties to share the Gospel to more people


• The person in your church who has their own agenda, who is a gossip, who is living in blatant & unrepentant sin


• For yourself: your walk with God, your family, your time

What's New?

Some "new" stuff that is either in the works or in prayer around Rock Bridge:

New Equipment:  The Wink Theatre is getting (or has gotten) new projectors, new lighting, new speakers, and some other "new" tech. stuff that should finish a major technological upgrade to the Wink.  When we bought it 3+ years ago we knew we'd need to add this stuff when we could and through The Next Step we've been able to do so. 

New Staff:  We're adding Alfred Turley as our Groups/Connections Pastor.  He'll start March 1st.  We're also looking at the worship pastor position in Calhoun.

New Environment:  We're thinking about adding new environment right after each worship service where people can meet some of the staff and ask questions about the church for about 10-15 minutes.  We always to make it easy for people to #1-meet people and #2- get useful information about our church.  Additionally, as we grow larger we have to be intentional about growing smaller as well. 

New Networks:  One thing that I will be doing more of this year will be connecting with other pastors/church leaders from around the country.  The whole "iron sharpens iron" concept.  This is something I have not done much of, but I know I need to in order to keep growing as a leader and minister.  The end of this month I'll be joining about 10 other pastors in Alpharetta for a 1-day roundtable.  This group is going to try to meet 3-4 times a year.  I may also get the opportunity to be part of another pastor's group that will meet in Dallas 3-4 times over the next 18 months.

New Leaders:  One of our greatest challenges as a church is the ability to raise up new leaders.  We are a volunteer-driven church and are very dependent on an army (or navy) of volunteers to make our ministries happen.  As we grow, we need more people to be able to lead small groups, host teams, children's groups, Student Area Bible studies, etc.  How we recruit and equip people to do these things is something we are working through right now.

New Initiative:  With Vision Sunday and Easter all falling back-to-back this year, we may be doing some really cool and creative outreach and marketing stuff.  (By the way, Vision Sunday is March 16th -- WHO will you invite???)

New Campus:  For the past few months I have sensed God telling us to "wait" about starting a 3rd Rock Bridge campus.  However, just this past week I began to get a sense of peace and boldness (2 key markers of the Holy Spirit's guidance) about our next site.  No details yet, just prayer, the Holy Spirit, and some great possibilities.

Lessons From Saul

Been reading in I Samuel and I'm always fascinated by Saul.  Saul who had the potential, skill, and talent to be King.  He even had the favor of God.  But reading about Saul is a lesson in a struggle that we all have:  the struggle between being self-sufficient and God-sufficient.  There were times when Saul was filled with the Spirit and accomplished great things.  However, other times he takes matter into his own hands, presumes upon God, and is ruled by his own intrepretation or by his pride.

• I heard a great quote yesterday that summarizes this:  we can live by "powerless effort or effortless power".


• Success can increase our tendency to be self-sufficient and think we need God less.


• I'm reading a Puritan prayer book that puts it like this --
  
  
  
  • "God save me from self-opinion and self-seeking ... keep me from self-importance."
  
  
  
  


• Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:  "It's not about me (you or us)."

Weekly Rundown

I've been pretty inconsistent in blogging lately so here's a Thursday afternoon rundown to get caught up on some things:

• Awesome kick-off to our "FORGED" series as we talk about developing character in our lives. Sunday's main points were:
  
  
  
  • Character development is God's primary agenda for us (vs. circumstance development)
  
  
  • Pursuing character puts us on the same team with God.
  
  
  • Not pursuing character will limit you and frustrate you.
  
  
  • Pursuing character will cost you (time, focus) and bless you.
  
  
  
  


• Both our campuses are now receiving the same sermon on the same week (vs. being a week behind in Calhoun).
  
  
  
  • Great move so far!  Makes scheduling things much easier.
  
  
  
  


• I have moved into a new office which actually used to be my old office.  We are moving offices around and adjusting some locations in preparation for construction.


• I have a rocking 20-gallon fish tank in my office.  I've only lost 2 fish (neons) so far :)


• On Tuesday, I did the same pull-up workout that I last was able to do when I was at the Naval Academy.  I was pretty excited but I did not realize that the recovery would take a lot longer than it did 10 years ago :)


• We hired a Connections Pastor (Small Groups; Ministry Teams).  His name is Alfred Turley.  I've known him a long time and he is going to rock serving God here.


• We are hoping that construction on Stage 123 (second worship venue; Student ministry; Cafe) begins real soon!!  Pray that the permit process goes smoothly at the local & state levels.


• Our Next Step giving is going great!!  You've already given over $500,000 of the total amount pledged!!  This is mind boggling that you have given that much in only 1 month!!!
  
  
  
  • For Beth & I, writing our first check to The Next Step was a little scary but ultimately, it was one of the BEST checks I've ever written ... because I believe so much in how God will use it!!
  
  
  
  


• Can't wait for part 2 of FORGED!!
  
  
  
  • In Calhoun: Great time to invite a new guest to church with you!!
  
  
  • In Dalton: We really need more people to switch from 11:00 to the 9:30 service.  11:00 is filling up rapidily and this is the optimal time for guests to show up ... so if possible, help us free up seats for the guests we expect each and every week at Rock Bridge!!
  
  
  
  

Rock Bridge in the News

We made 2 newspapers in the past few days.

• Pretty good article about Rock Bridge in today's Chattanooga Times Free Press North Georgia section (I could not find an online version of the article).
  
  
  
  • Contrary to the article I am actually ordained :)
  
  
  • The article covered our growth, our diverse congregation, our vision/mission as well as the discussions from some local businesses about us being downtown, buying property, not paying property taxes, etc.
  
  
  
  


• The local Dalton paper did a front-page story about nothing on Thursday. The story was all to say that we are not trying to buy the Dalton City School Administration building ... which is true ... we are not trying to buy that building.


• Here are some brief thoughts on this media coverage:
  
  
  
  • Rock Bridge by God's grace & power has grown quickly and that has caught people's attention.
  
  
  • Our presence in downtown and in a historic building is going to be questioned by some regarding property taxes, use of the theatre, and property expansion. Bottom line: this is America and churches do not have to pay property taxes and are allowed to own and manage property. Every piece of property we have purchased has been done legally and through the "free enterprise" system. The man who originally bought and renovated the Wink attends Rock Bridge ... I guess he is not concerned about how the theatre is being used :)
  
  
  • There is no doubt that God strategically placed us in downtown Dalton. Being in downtown was not in our plans 5+ years ago. We tried to leave downtown. In each case, God opened and shut doors that brought us and then kept us downtown. Now, He has unified our leadership and stirred our hearts for the Dalton campus to remain downtown.
  
  
  • However, this media attention and the questions being asked should not distract us from what God is doing through us!!